May 7th (Afternoon) and May 10th (Morning)

May 7th (Afternoon)

Getting ready and then leaving work, I felt really stiff and sore. However, once I got riding things loosened up and I ended up having a really good ride. Out of the two troublesome switchbacks going down into Peterson’s creek, I ended up missing the first one, but I made the second one (which, in my opinion, is the more difficult one really). Going up the other side I made a record distance, just to the bottom of the sandy switchback. I’ve never made it this far in one try yet, so that was really cool. I then also started back on the bike right after the switchback (I normally walk another 20 feet or so ‘till I start riding). However, I did catch up to a couple walking their bikes up. I walked with them for a bit ‘till I continued on. The lady’s comment was “I just keep hoping this will end, but it never does...” And then she says later “He tells me there’s good riding up here, but how good can it really be to have to endure this hill?” Hah! Yep, brings back good memories of my first few times. Now my thoughts are simply “Dang this still sucks.”.

Going through Frolek’s land wasn’t much different, other than the fact that I’m learning the nasty sand traps to avoid and, if avoided, I manage to push through the rest not too bad. The transition to my singletrack at the end is still quite a little cliff to climb up, but that won’t change now if ever, so I just have to accept it. I just about didn’t make the second-to-last peak on the pipeline hills before Rose Hill. I lost a fair amount of traction right away, which killed my momentum. However, I was able to still power to the top, so that is progress for sure! Up ‘till this successful attempt, a loss of traction meant a dismount every time. I made it over half way up the last peak.

From Rose Hill to Juniper, I took the pipeline trail again mainly because of a nasty headwind that was starting to pick up. But the fact that this curvy, up and down trail is so much fun might have had a little to do with it as well. :)

May 10th (Morning)

Well, I finally bit the bullet and bought some biking shoes this weekend. Louis Garneau’s from Spoke ‘N Motion. I have priced out shoes at all the local bike shops, and these were the cheapest anyone had. I could’ve gotten some cheaper online I think, but I tend to have issues with fitting and didn’t want to risk ordering something I couldn’t try on first. So I cleaned up and adjusted the bike this weekend, threw on the clipless pedals I had purchased at a garage sale earlier, and went out to the front yard to test them out. After about an hour or so of nothing but circles and stop-n-go on my driveway, I got the tension where I’m comfortable. Clipping out isn’t hard, if I’m thinking about it. The only issue is that I have to be able to do it instantly without thinking about it. Those are the “panic” moments when all I can think of is yank, yank, yank! Which doesn’t always have the best results. So, I loosened the tension up pretty loose, had about 10 ‘panic’ moments of yanking that still resulted in a success un-clippings, so I think I’m ready. ;) But the bunny hopping is amazingly easy all of a sudden. Love it!!!

Notice the colour coordination? Yeah, total fluke...

Just had to get the shot with the pedal in there!

Heading down the trails I had a bit of mixed reviews with the pedals. With them set as loose as they are, I didn’t realize how much movement (twisting movement) my feet would still have. This may take a little getting used to as I develop confidence with them. However, any down side due to this was quickly erased by the first climb. The ability to spin smoothly (pull and push) made the hills just that much easier. For that alone, this system will stay.

As if I wasn’t already convinced about the SPD’s by the time I got to Lansdowne, my ride up from TRU to work was 3 minutes faster! Granted, some of that may be due to my “Monday Morning NOT blues”. But I think the majority of the time saved was the SPD’s (we will see how the rest of the week goes if this is indeed true). I was actually shifting up and down all the way up, where I’ve normally been in the lowest gear grinding the entire way. Plus, up ‘till now, every morning ride has been 28.5 minutes, plus or minus 0.5 minutes, regardless of whether or not I felt good. Today, suddenly, I drop 3 minutes?

Well, now we will see how they fair through my nemesis that is Peterson’s Creek. I’m a bit nervous about panicking and not unclipping in time... But let’s not think about that... :)